Natural Harm

February 6th, 2013
morality
A: Life begins at conception. From that point on the embryo is a person and has the same moral status as a child.

B: What do you think of diseases that kill small children?

A: They're horrible and we must eliminate them.

B: The children?

A: The diseases!

B: Sorry! What do you think of embryos that die between conception and birth? [1]

A: Because of abortions?

B: No, because they just die on their own.

A: Natural embryo loss and miscarrages? They're just things that happen. It can be very sad for the parents, but it's not a moral issue like abortion.

B: What about animal suffering?

A: Animal suffering counts just like human suffering, and we should minimize it. Factoring farming is horrible. If you keep a cat you shouldn't let it outside because cats kill birds. Consider giving up meat.

B: What about suffering of animals in nature? [2]

A: Again, that's just something that happens. It's not a moral issue.


Update 2013-02-08: I agree with B.


[1] The Scourge: Moral Implications of Natural Embryo Loss (Toby Ord, 2008)

[2] The Importance of Wild-Animal Suffering (Brian Tomasik, 2009)

Comment via: google plus, facebook

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Animal Welfare and Capabilitarianism

All ethics is a special case of animal welfare science

via Thing of Things December 18, 2024

Developing the middle ground on polarized topics

Avoiding false dichotomies The post Developing the middle ground on polarized topics appeared first on Otherwise.

via Otherwise November 25, 2024

How to eat vegan on Icon of the Seas

Royal Caribbean has a new giant cruise ship, Icon of the Seas, which has a large selection of food options.

via Home November 21, 2024

more     (via openring)